Sizing Up Small Caps

A Mini-Conglomerate With Huge Upside

Activists have been agitating for a breakup of the small conglomerate, which makes fertilizers.

Activist investors have bought up shares of LSB Industries, a small conglomerate, and are agitating for change. The results could reward all shareholders.

With a market value of just $833 million, LSB operates two distinct businesses: a chemical unit, which produces nitrogen-based fertilizers for crops such as corn, wheat, and alfalfa, and a climate-control division that builds heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning products for...